The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would tighten restrictions on travel to the United States by citizens from 38 countries under the Visa Waiver Programme.
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In the U.S. Senate, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation last week that would require individuals who have traveled to Syria or Iraq in the past five years to first obtain visa stamps in their passports from a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas before traveling to the United States.
“If they visited in the last five years, then they would have to go through the normal visa screening process, instead of the visa waiver process”, explains Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of the Migration Policy Institute’s US Immigration Policy Program.
Until Tuesday’s strong bipartisan vote, the two parties have struggled to come together on any measures to improve security after the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. Democrats were unable to get support for keeping persons on terror no-fly lists from legally buying guns or explosives.
About 20 million visitors a year enter the United States under the program, which allows them to stay 90 days.
It also would also require countries participating in the program to share information with USA authorities about suspected terrorists.
By a 407-to-19 margin, the House passed the measure with broad bi-partisan support and the White House has indicated that the president backs the legislation, as well. That program is already being reviewed by the Homeland Security Department. The bill would require countries to be able to confirm that such documents are legitimate when they are scanned.
“What does this mean to a Swiss doctor who traveled to Iraq working in a refugee camp providing medical care and wants to come to the USA for a conference?” asked House Democrat Keith Ellison. “Today, the House took a very important step by passing legislation that addresses known vulnerabilities with our Visa Waiver Program by giving America the leverage it needs to ensure that all participating countries are sharing critical information necessary to stop enemies of freedom from exploiting our hospitality”.
“As we know, one of the great threats posed by ISIS is their ability to recruit foreign fighters, many of whom – including several of the Paris attackers – have western passports which makes it easier for them to enter into the United States”. Lost and stolen passports must be reported to Interpol.
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“This bill will do some good, but it’s mostly evadable”, said Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California.
